Cassville Mine Plan Heads to W.Va. Supreme Court

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — The battle to stop the expansion of a northern West Virginia surface mine is headed for the state Supreme Court.

The Sierra Club is appealing a circuit court ruling that favored the state Department of Environmental Protection and Arch Coal subsidiary Patriot Mining.

Patriot wants to expand the New Hill Mine near Cassville by 225 acres and is trying to modify its water pollution permits.

Environmentalists have been fighting the project since 2010, arguing that coal ash runoff will pollute Scotts Run. The Dominion Post (http://bit.ly/12MI39K) says coal ash is used at the strip mine to reduce acid mine runoff.

In 2011, the Environmental Quality Board blocked the expansion and ordered DEP to rewrite the permit

Last month, Kanawha County Circuit Judge James Stuckey ruled the board exceeded its authority.